Delaney strives to cap climb with Euro triumph

IT'S not quite the rags to riches story beloved by women's magazines but Aston Villa defender Mark Delaney stands on the brink of bridging the gap between the League of Wales and the European Championship finals in less than six years.

IT'S not quite the rags to riches story beloved by women's magazines but Aston Villa defender Mark Delaney stands on the brink of bridging the gap between the League of Wales and the European Championship finals in less than six years.

The 27-year-old defender was plucked from homely Haverfordwest by Cardiff City in 1998 and had just one season at Ninian Park before stepping up to the Premiership with the Midlands club.

Inside his first few months at Villa Park, he had won his first Wales cap - against Switzerland at Wrexham - and now 20 international appearances on, he is a key figure in the defensive unit upon which so much depends in Moscow on Saturday in the first leg of the Euro 2004 play-offs against Russia.

The last time Wales were within touching distance of reaching a major championship 10 years ago, Delaney was a television fan when Paul Bodin's infamous penalty miss gave Romania the impetus to march onwards to the World Cup in the USA.

Remembering only too well the disappointment he felt as a supporter, the quietly-spoken defender insists Wales have come too far in the current campaign to fall again.

"In my first season at Villa I played in an FA Cup final and that was massive, but the reward awaiting us beyond these next two games is something I'll possibly never achieve again," he said.

"We started well in the group stages and faded but that's behind us now. These are two completely different games. We are starting from scratch and it's winner-takes-all.

"If we don't qualify now we'll be letting ourselves down because we feel as if we have come a long way and not to qualify after making such a great start in the group would be a disaster. It's not even worth thinking about at the moment.

"We may never get a start like that again so these two games are really massive and I think the lads know that.

"I saw a lot of those World Cup qualifying games on television, including when Paul Bodin missed that penalty against Romania, and as a supporter I felt pretty bad then. Hopefully I won't feel like that again."

Delaney refuses to contemplate failure even if, like their rugby counterparts, Wales eventually bow out in gallant fashion.

"I've played in an FA Cup final and been on the losing side, which was pretty bad, and it proved to me that performances mean nothing unless you get the right result," he added.

"If we play well in Moscow and lose 3-0, no-one will remember the performance, only the result. So we have to go there, defend well and get a result before showing what we are made of next week in Cardiff."

Aston Villa team-mate Mark Kinsella, who played for the Republic of Ireland in their Group 10 4-2 defeat by Russia in Moscow, has given Delaney the lowdown on Wales' opponents.

"We'll have to be cautious out there," he said. "Mark Kinsella said they are fantastic at home. They'll have a great crowd behind them; they work very hard and they have some great individuals, so we'll need to be careful.

"But with the players we've got going forward we can score goals as well, so it's got the makings of a very good game in Moscow.

"The play-off draw could have been worse and it could have been better, but Russia are definitely within our capabilities and if we go there with the right attitude and get a decent result we can bring them back to Cardiff and their away record is not so good.

"Out there, though, they will probably have a lot of the play. We know what to expect so we have to make sure we have the right defensive quality, but they will also need to be aware of the threat we can pose. And on the other side of the coin I don't think they will relish the prospect of playing in front of 70,000-plus at the Millennium Stadium."

Kinsella's insight apart, Delaney said Wales boss Mark Hughes would ensure this week that his squad are fully briefed and prepared for what is in store.

"I don't know a lot about them but, from what I have heard, they seem to be well-organised," he added. "But if we show the right attitude and have the right players, we can get the job done. "Our lads seem really up for it and we can achieve something for Welsh football.

"But we'll need all our best defensive qualities in Moscow, which will be daunting. They will have the majority of chances and we'll have to be as resolute as we were in games in Poland and Finland."

And he is confident that Wales have learned from the chastening 4-0 defeat in Italy where the defence crumbled after holding out for the best part of an hour.

"Italy are probably the best team I've played against in international football and hopefully we aren't going to come up against that sort of thing over in Moscow," he said. "We knew we were up against it when we went to Italy so went there and enjoyed the game and the atmosphere.

"They are one of the top sides in Europe and that result had the effect of putting our feet back on the ground. Although we have done really well to get this far, it showed we are not guaranteed to get points away from home.

"And I learned a lot from that game, as did a few of the players. It certainly proved we have to play for 90 minutes, rather than the 60 minutes we had in Milan."